A few years ago we started to see an interesting phenomena. First one client, then another, then another, came to us with a similar story:
“We spent a small fortune with a big brand firm and all we have to show for it is this huge stack of rules. We have internal people, a PR firm, an ad agency, and a web consultant, and everyone is putting their own spin on this. How do we achieve the unified brand that was promised?”
Looking at the problems these clients faced, we came to believe that the traditional brand tools don’t get results that are as good as the promise.
Traditional brand tools are too limited
The problem boils down to a gap between brand strategy and the communications that are supposed to bring it to life. On one side of the strategy side of the gap is the brand platform, which is made up of abstract elements like mission, vision, values, positioning, and personality. Brand platforms represent a large investment in research, thinking, analysis and consensus building. They are the foundation of powerful brands, but until they are put to work, they are just words.
In the old model, the brand platform is handed off to a design team to create a logo and “applications,” which are compiled into a great big Graphic Standards Guidebook. These books lay down the law on things like logo usage, color palette, approved typefaces, and “clearspace,” and they wouldn’t be complete without a long list of forbidden practices (never, ever reverse the logo out of a pattern!). Then comes the “applications”: generic examples of the logo pasted on every manner of object, from delivery vans to coffee cups.
Guidebooks like these are meant to close the gap between strategy and execution, but they fall painfully short. Pass these limited tools to the various teams in charge of communications, and watch how many interpretations are possible. The end result is a fractured brand.
A better way to look at brands
What these guidebooks are missing is the big picture, the greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts magic that makes a brand reach out and touch its audiences again and again, building awareness and cementing loyalty with every contact.
A better approach to brand design starts with a 30,000-foot view: What is the intangible essence that connects the web site, print ads, packaging, and trade show graphics? How is the brand expressed to different audiences? The way words are used to convey the unique brand voice is just as important as the visual vocabulary: What is the tone and style of the writing? How do messages translate into headlines? These questions need to be addressed together. Brands are the sum of all the impressions audiences get from a company, and the only intelligent way to look at them is holistically.
Better brand tools = reduced costs + more equity
With the 30,000-foot view put into a comprehensive and actionable system, the brand no longer needs to be reinvented for every new communications piece. (Actionable is key: if it can’t be put to work, it’s no better than the old guides.) Give teams a guide like this, and they will have a better chance of interpreting the brand consistently.
One benefit of this approach is good old-fashioned operating efficiency: a comprehensive and actionable system reduces the time and cost needed to produce ongoing marketing tools, adding up to major savings over the life of the brand. But the main benefit is greater consistency in communications. Consistency of image and messaging is what drives brand awareness, which translates directly to more brand equity. With all the guidebooks out there that fall short, imagine how much brand equity is just waiting to be tapped.